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Baumhower: Toledo’s better with a Free Press

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Toledo Free Press
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I am not a writer.

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I never imagined my words would appear in a newspaper, especially on a regular basis. I’m fairly certain my family was equally shocked to find them in their driveways or even in a grocery store.

My words did not come from years of education nor from a lifelong love affair with writing. They appeared as a survival method from a heart that was drowning in things it needed to say.

I don’t remember what sparked the conversation between former Toledo Free Press Editor in Chief Michael S. Miller and myself. But I do remember my motivation in asking. After spending 10 years on the radio, an occupation and lifestyle that cost me a marriage, I wanted to show my family the person I was, not the one I was pretending to be.

As a father of four, I fear a retirement with weekends spent primarily in a car or on a plane — trips to visit my grandchildren if this city cannot attract jobs to retain the younger generations.

I was tired of living in a city being bullied by its daily newspaper. I was tired of being shown, via front-page “special reports,” how bad and ugly my hometown was. I never understood how the publisher of a city’s newspaper could live in a completely different state, hundreds of miles away. The irony of a newspaper publishing repeated editorials offering advice to local politicians on how to run city government while itself losing millions of dollars a year is beyond rich.

I wanted to highlight and showcase Toledo’s greatest export: its heart. I knew that if I shared stories of Toledoans at their finest, it could be contagious. I think it has been.

Toledo Free Press has spent the past decade battling the one thing that has kept this city down since the last episode of “M*A*S*H” aired, and it isn’t the economy. The Blade is close to crippling this paper with behind-the-scenes influence and legal bills from an insulting lawsuit.

If you can’t beat ’em, sue ’em. If they dare to point out the emperor wears no clothes, sue ’em some more. “One of America’s Great Newspapers (For Law Firms)” would be a more accurate description.

TFP dedicates its ink to news without a hidden agenda while highlighting the heart of a city learning how to walk again. It provides a vehicle and voice for many previously unrepresented communities, and people dreaming of change. It’s helped champion the “You Will Do Better in Toledo” campaign, which now welcomes all those who visit the Glass City.

I come from a proud union family full of carpenters, welders and UAW members. I can take my children anywhere around the city and show them things our family has built, from Fifth Third Field to the new I-280 bridge. I have discovered my talents lie in my voice, rather than my hands.

The love and support of those who read my column has been overwhelming. This paper has served as my heart’s bucket, allowing me to dump its words one column at a time. It’s given me the opportunity to effect a positive difference. Since I don’t possess the ability to cut a straight line, this column offers my children a chance to see my work.

As a child, my grandparents Pete and JoAnn Zunk would give me these beautiful personal tours, where they would drive throughout the city to show how rooted our family is in Northwest Ohio.

After writing and appearing in this paper for over a year, I learned they were secretly keeping a scrapbook of my columns. My grandma was painstakingly cutting the paper and gluing the pieces into a photo album. Who needs Google when you have glue?

It was at this moment I knew my words had reached their targeted audience — a nice older couple from Point Place.

Thank you Toledo Free Press for being the jobsite of my work and home to my heart.

We have done better in Toledo with a Free Press.

Jeremy Baumhower can be reached at [email protected].

Letters to the Editor, Mar. 8, 2015

By
Dock David Treece
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Column out of character

I read, with curiosity, loyal Toledo Blade soldier Keith C. Burris’ Sunday front-page hit piece on Woodville, Ohio (“Woodville: Worst little town in Ohio?” Feb. 15).

Little Woodville has been a notorious speed trap since I’ve had any memory and I’m over 50 years old. Is The Blade finally going to stand up for citizens against government oppression and overreach by going after “tax collectors with guns”?

It would seem out of character for an organization that has no problem with red-light cameras, public smoking bans, restrictive yet symbolic gun control and the IRS being in charge of health care.

So, as my wife’s stepfather, the old redneck, would say, “That’s the excuse; what’s the reason?”

There is no problem with any tax or government program, big or small, with the editor of The Blade. No, the unforgiveable sin of the authorities in Sandusky County is harming a dog.

So, little guy, you’ll have to look elsewhere for any support. It won’t come from the editorial front page of “One of America’s Great Newspapers.”

— Charles Zsarnay, Monclova

Woodville is home

I just read Sarah Ottney’s column about our town (“Bully Pulpit,” Feb. 22) … outstanding! I am thrilled that you were encouraged to enter it into The Blade and help the current bullying going on in Woodville. You are a very good writer and it was very evident that you wrote from your heart. I do not live in Woodville and haven’t for quite some time, but I will always call it home! A job well done! Thank you so much, Sarah.

— Christine M. Rodman, Port Clinton

Blade column uncalled for

I just wanted to thank you for the excellent column titled “Bully Pulpit” in the Feb. 22 Toledo Free Press. The Feb. 15 column, “Woodville: Worst little town in Ohio?” by Keith Burris in The Blade, was totally uncalled for and you did a very nice job of putting him (and The Blade) in their place.

I wish Toledo Free Press could go to a daily publication. I get so tired of reading about dogs, courthouses and now the Woodville police.

Unfortunately, The Blade is currently the only (daily) in town and they can do whatever they arrogantly wish to do. I think if you guys went to a daily, you would put them out of business in six months.

— Richard Martin, Bowling Green


Breath of fresh air

The Toledo Free Press is a breath of fresh air for the Toledo/ Maumee area. Sarah Ottney’s “Editor’s Statement” was right on in the “Bully Pulpit” column Feb. The Blade and columnist Keith Burris overexercise with their supply of ink on paper, trying to persuade the community of their biased views. Thank you for working to keep the community informed in a straightforward journalistic newspaper.

— Bill Coder, Monclova

Port approves lease agreement for Andersons’ new headquarters

By
Toledo Free Press
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The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority Board of Directors approved a lease agreement Feb. 26 with The Andersons Inc. to acquire and construct an approximately 130,000-square-foot corporate headquarters facility in Northwest Ohio through a number of Port Authority financing mechanisms totaling up to $50 million.

“The Port Authority was able to secure the necessary financing in order to help move The Andersons’ headquarters relocation project forward,” said Paul Toth, president and CEO of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, in a news release. “By relocating and expanding its headquarters due to the financing mechanisms in place, The Andersons will be able to not only retain existing jobs in the community, but will also be able to create new ones.”

The Port Authority will issue up to $10 million in taxable development revenue bonds through its Northwest Ohio Bond Fund program and up to $35 million in lease revenue bonds that will be sold to a commercial bank or into the capital markets.

JobsOhio is recommending a $5 million 166 Direct Loan, contingent upon the State Controlling Board’s approval, bringing the total to $50 million to be used by the Port Authority to construct the new facility.

The Maumee-based company hopes to begin construction this spring and to occupy the new headquarters building by the end of 2016, according to corporate communications manager Debra Crow.

The Port Authority will lease the facility to The Andersons under a 15-year capital lease in exchange for lease rental payments to pay the debt service on the Northwest Ohio Bond Fund bonds, the lease revenue bonds and the 166 Loan recommended by JobsOhio. Upon retirement of all debt, The Andersons will have an option to acquire the facility.

About 450 employees of The Andersons currently working in its leased Maumee corporate office will move to the new location. The firm’s other 700 employees will remain working in Maumee, Crow said.

The Andersons announced plans in November to move its headquarters to a 55-acre site in Monclova Township located north of Salisbury Road and west of I-475.

UT hosting electronics recycling drive March 21

By
Cassandra DeYoung
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Do you have old electronic items taking up space and collecting dust? Bring them to the University of Toledo’s community electronic recycling drive.

The e-waste event is 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 21 in parking lot 28, located off East Rocket Drive by the Transportation Center near the Dorr Street entrance to Main Campus.

Electronics that can be recycled at the drive include computers, laptops, printers, cameras, radios, cellphones, electronic games, VCRs, DVD players and power tools.

Televisions will not be accepted because they require a different recycling process, according to Brooke Mason, UT sustainability specialist.

Affinity Information Management, an R2-certified recycler, is collaborating with the university during the drive to ensure all electronics are recycled in an environmentally safe manner and in accordance with Department of Defense standards.

The drive is part of RecycleMania, an eight-week national recycling competition that runs through Saturday, March 28.

UT is competing against schools across the United States and Canada to see which can collect the most recycled materials as measured by weight.

Participating in the competition and the e-waste event are part of UT’s Sustainability, Energy Efficiency and Design Initiative.

For more information, contact Mason at [email protected] or (419) 530-1042.

— Cassandra DeYoung

Revolution of new flavors: Chef Wesley Wright debuts new items with ethnic flair at Revolution Grille

By
Joel Sensenig
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The Wagyu flank is one of the new menu items at Revolution Grille developed by chef Wesley Wright. Wright, who has been at the Monroe Street eatery for eight months, looked for influences from around the globe for the new dishes. Photo Courtesy Revolution Grille

Eight months into taking over the kitchen at Revolution Grille, chef Wesley Wright is introducing some ethnic creativity to the menu.

Wright, who is also general manager at the 2-and-a-half year-old eatery at 5333 Monroe St., debuted nine new items to diners in February. Despite his eight years at Ciao!, those assuming Wright would lean heavily on his Italian dining background would be mistaken.

The Wagyu flank is one of the new menu items at Revolution Grille developed by chef Wesley Wright. Wright, who has been at the Monroe Street eatery for eight months, looked for influences from around the globe for the new dishes. Photo Courtesy Revolution Grille

Instead, the classically trained Wright has sought inspiration from all corners of the globe for his latest offerings, including Canada, Africa, India and Asia. New additions to the menu include: beef bourguignon poutine, chipotle tamarind pork, grilled Caesar salad, croque-madame, curried potato flatbread, Wagyu flank, root beer pork, cauliflower steak and Meyer lemon tart.

“[At Ciao!] I was immersed in Italian ingredients, creating Italian specials, working with Italian foods, but I’m classically trained from all around the world,” Wright said. “People thought Revolution Grille was going to go Italian now. I can assure you, that’s not the case.”

While Wright has gotten a favorable response to many items on the list, there are a couple of dishes that have become quick favorites.

Many people are starting their meals off with the beef bourguignon poutine ($10.95), he said. Poutine, which originated in Quebec, Canada, is traditionally French fries topped with brown gravy and cheese curds.

“We’ve taken that and elevated it into a little bit more of a nicer dish where we take fingerling [potatoes], roast those with some herbs, cut them in half and sear them,” Wright said. “So you get that crunchy texture but it’s not a deep-fried, French-fried product. It’s different, a little more classic.” A beef bourguignon short rib gravy is placed atop the dish.

The Wagyu flank ($23.95) is also attracting a lot of attention, Wright said.

Wagyu is “the king of beef,” as Wright explained it. When it comes to Japanese beef, people know Kobe beef but “this is Papa,” he said with a laugh.

“The thought process behind this beef was that this cow is going to live the most relaxed lifestyle possible,” Wright said. “They would feed it a high-fat diet, they’d give it beer, they’d massage it with sake. This animal would live like a king. What this did is enhance the fat, the marbling in the meat.”

Even while serving the king of beef, Wright looks to shake things up for customers.

“I try to do something different with that set too, because people are like ‘steak and potato, steak and potatoes, steak and rice,’” he said. “I get away from that.”

The meat is placed atop Great Northern beans tossed with bone marrow vinaigrette.

For the non-meat crowd, Wright presents the cauliflower steak ($11.95). Here, it’s presented with a harissa tomato sauce and olive-caper-raisin salad.

“We always try to offer something vegan. Not just vegetarian, but vegan,” he said. “Harissa, you see it more and more. It’s a growing ingredient used in sauce a lot. It’s very flavorful.”

Even something as commonplace as a Caesar salad can use a twist.

Revolution Grille creates a grilled Caesar Salad ($7.95) by seasoning and grilling a wedge of Romaine lettuce and adding crispy parmesan, prosciutto crumbles and polenta croutons. The dish may still raise some eyebrows, Wright admits.

“I think people are still at the point where it’s like, ‘A grilled salad? Whoa,’” he said with a laugh.

To finish off the meal, Wright has added a twist of local citrus, of all things, with the Meyer lemon tart ($4.95).

He gets lemons from Hoen’s Garden Center & Landscaping in Holland, where a large Meyer lemon tree grows inside the greenhouse.

“It’s local, and it’s something that’s not going to sit heavy at the end of the meal,” Wright said of the dessert. “I really try to stay with the seasons, and with local ingredients.”

As for the future, Wright is hoping to implement some ideas he brought back from Hawaii, where he recently got married.

He hopes to introduce a little of the 50th state’s flourishing fish scene to Revolution.

“Of course, we don’t want to copy and paste, but we’ll get some ideas and influence and take it back and twist it our way,” he said. “I’ll be bringing some ideas from there, looking at some of the applications they do there.”

For more information, visit revolutiongrille.com.

Suburb & the city: Maumee’s Martini & Nuzzi’s to open location Downtown

By
Toledo Free Press
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Cheryl Jiannuzzi, owner of Martini & Nuzzi’s, right, with her grandchildren Tiana Moore and Anthony Jiannuzzi at the restaurant’s second location on North Huron Street Downtown. Toledo Free Press Star Photo by Christie Materni

Martini & Nuzzi’s, already known for the food, martinis and live music it offers at 6023 Manley Road in Maumee, will soon have a second location open Downtown.

Cheryl Jiannuzzi, owner of Martini & Nuzzi’s, right, with her grandchildren Tiana Moore and Anthony Jiannuzzi at the restaurant’s second location on North Huron Street Downtown. Toledo Free Press Star Photo by Christie Materni

Owner Cheryl Jiannuzzi said she hopes to have the new location at 329 N. Huron St. open in late March, just in time for the Mud Hens season to begin. The expansion is coming at a time when Downtown is revitalizing, she said.

“I just thought that Downtown is picking up and I think that right now is the right time to get in on it,” she said. “We have a lot of different ideas. We have a lot of good entertainment. We have loyal customers.”

Jiannuzzi fell in love with the location, which formerly housed The 329, Ole Taco & Tequila and Diva.

The new location underwent renovations (including new floors) before Jiannuzzi chose it. She said she fell in love with the brick walls and wood floors.

“It’s nice,” she said. “It looks like our bar.”

Its proximity to the Huntington Center made the new location appealing as well. Jiannuzzi plans to capitalize on the business they get from those events.

The neighboring bars and restaurants have been welcoming to Jiannuzzi. She has plans to work with them in the future.

As is the case at the Maumee location, the Downtown bar will host live entertainment. Local acts like Noisy Neighbors, Joe Woods and Chris Shutters have been known to play at the Maumee location.

The new location will also have valet parking and an “Express Menu” for people on lunch breaks who have limited time.

Jiannuzzi planned the menu and the martinis. Some martinis include the Abra Cadabra, the Bananarama and the Green Eyed Monstor. Food items on the menu include paninis, pasta, pizza and burgers, but Jiannuzzi is particularly fond of the meatballs.

The restaurant is intended to be a family business and Jiannuzzi said she hopes to pass it to her kids when she is gone. She helped work in her own parents’ restaurant when she was a kid.

“I’ve always wanted to do it,” she said. “I’ve been doing this since I was 10 years old at my parents’ restaurant. I made homemade candy.”

Jiannuzzi started to make bigger decisions about her life after a health scare.

“I was in the hospital, I had gangrene of my appendix and my doctor said, ‘Five more minutes and you would’ve been dead. Whatever you plan on doing, you better do it now,’” she said.

The restaurant plans to shut down the street to celebrate Mud Hens Opening Day on April 16. The event will include a tent and live music.

For more information, visit martiniandnuzzis.com.

Mahler: The beauty of Beaujolais

By
Adam Mahler
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Consumers are always looking for tips on navigating the often overwhelming wine departments

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As a result, I’m often asked for some “insider intel.” Like many wine industry professionals, I’m currently quite enamored by Beaujolais.

It’s a name you undoubtedly recognize. Maybe you’ve had Beaujolais Nouveau (more on that later), or maybe you just recognize it from older pop culture references. Either way, Beaujolais is making a comeback in a big way right now and sommeliers all over the world are tapping into its diversity and adaptability.

Beaujolais is a French appellation, technically located within Burgundy, but it’s so far south that the distance between Beaujolais and the rest of Burgundy is greater than the entire remaining appellation.

The villages of Beaujolais occupy the rolling hills and countryside just north of the gastronomic capital of Lyon. Beaujolais is typically a red wine, made from the Gamay grape.

Gamay is an offspring of pinot noir, the great red grape of Burgundy (and now California and Oregon). It shares much in common with its parent, Pinot Noir, except it ripens about two weeks earlier. Those are two crucial weeks.

Great pinot noir is a balancing act, with tragic vintages sprinkled in every so often. The most volatile time for any grape is in the final weeks before harvest.

Because it comes in earlier, it has a different character than red Burgundy. It tends to be, for lack of a better term, quite grapey. We often discuss wine flavors in colors — red fruit, blue fruit, black fruit — things you associate with the analogues of berries or other fruits.

Well, Beaujolais is fairly unique in that it tastes almost purple.  Along with that you can, of course, expect to find all of the other colors, but there is a really charming underlying “purpleness” to Beaujolais that is very appealing.

When shopping for Beaujolais, there are three distinctions you will find on the label: Beaujolais Nouveau, Beaujolais-Villages or Cru Beaujolais (with one of 10 allowed villages included on the label).

Nouveau is immensely popular and is meant to be consumed chilled and immediately. These wines are made quickly and released to celebrate the end of the harvest in the third week of November, coinciding with a huge festival of the same name.

While certainly a fun tradition, you can buy the next step up — Beaujolais-Villages — for very close to the same price and get a much better wine. Beaujolais-Villages is one of my go-to great values. You can expect to spend between $15-$20 for a bottle.

From good producers, these wines show a ton of depth and are quite fascinating. The third step up, Cru Beaujolais, tends to isolate specific styles and differentiates the terroirs. Each of the appellations is a little different. The most famous are Brouilly (light and fruity), Fleurie (richer, with more red fruit), Morgon and Moulin-à-Vent (the last two are both earthy and need a little time).

Also available, although less common, are: Régnié, Chénas, Juliénas and Saint-Amour. Great Cru Beaujolais can be found for $20-$25.

About 90 percent of Beaujolais (like most things it seems) is made by about a half-dozen négociants.

Négociants are basically large companies that buy fruit on the open market and blend it all together to make a final product.

Their wines can be good, but you’re much better off looking for a grower/ producer. There shouldn’t be a huge price difference between the two and you’ll get much more reward with the grower.

Beaujolais has long provided the bistro wines of Paris, which might suggest they are simple. While they are not simple, they are versatile and dependable. They work with a wide range of foods from salads and fish to meats and stews.

I know of at least one great local restaurant that has replaced their pinot noir by the glass with a Cru Beaujolais (hint: it’s Downtown). You can tweet wine pairing or wine shopping questions to @ampelography

Adam Mahler is the founder of Ampelography, a wine sales and marketing company based in Toledo (ampelographywines.com). He can be reached at [email protected]. You can tweet wine pairing or wine shopping questions to @ampelography.

Race the sun: Brothers develop flying game with shades of ‘Star Fox’

By
Toledo Free Press
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Forest and Aaron San Filippo created their own company, Flippfly, which recently released the fast-paced ‘Race the Sun.’ Photo Courtesy Flippfly

It’s like playing the greatest old-school arcade game that never existed. You are in control of a small aircraft, flying just above the ground, whipping across a landscape at blinding speed. The areas you traverse are littered with simple objects like cubes, cones and spheres. You hit any of them and kaboom — it’s a fast end for your fast ride.

Forest and Aaron San Filippo created their own company, Flippfly, which recently released the fast-paced ‘Race the Sun.’ Photo Courtesy Flippfly

This is “Race the Sun,” a new independent video game that combines arresting visuals with endlessly exciting flying and a thrilling chase against the clock. The concept is deceptively simple, yet wildly addictive. It’s the kind of tremendously fun title that small indie developers specialize in, and they don’t get much smaller than “Race” creators Flippfly — a team comprised of two brothers, Forest and Aaron San Filippo.

“[I] started out doing graphic design, first for an established retail business and then as an independent freelancer,” Forest said in an interview with Toledo Free Press.

“And my brother was working for Raven Software here in Wisconsin, which was — and still is — a subsidiary of Activision. So he was working making games like ‘Call of Duty’ and all that stuff. And he was getting to a point in his career — he’d been doing professional game development for about eight years, and he was ready to do his own thing. …

“So he came to me with this, and he said, ‘We’ve always talked about it. … Let’s give it a shot.’ And so I jumped onboard,” Forest said.

Though the San Filippos never owned a gaming console growing up, the occasional weekend rental of a Super Nintendo gave them the chance to sample a slew of classic games during the 1990s — including the iconic flying game “Star Fox.”

“That aesthetic just got imprinted on us. We just thought that was the coolest game in the world, and I don’t know how many times we played through it,” Forest said.

When the brothers first started developing their own titles in 2012, their different points of view and areas of expertise began manifesting themselves in the process by which their work began to develop — Forest on design, Aaron on programming.

“We had just finished up a little children’s app,” Forest said. “Although we liked that, we wanted to make games. … And at one point, my brother drew this picture in a Google SketchUp. And it was this big, open area, with a couple sparse buildings in there. And he said, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun just to fly through this, really, really fast?’ And that was really the beginning of it.”

The modest success of “Race” on PC has allowed the production of a version for PlayStation systems.

“One of the strong ethics that we have in our statement there is, we are really focused on fun,” Forest said. “It’s a little difficult as an indie these days to compete in a market where there’s a lot of manipulative gameplay design. And this is nothing new, this goes back to the arcade era. In the arcade era, they were trying to get you to pump in one more quarter. In our era, they’re trying to get you to buy that in-app purchase, or pay to get you a little stronger, whatever that happens to be.

“And for us, we just want players to be able to jump in and feel free. That sense of, ‘I’m just here to enjoy this.’ That’s really what we experienced as kids.”

Kiss: How does new Lucas County sales tax rate really compare to other urban Ohio counties?

By
Gary Kiss
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At their Jan. 20 meeting, the Board of Lucas County Commissioners voted unanimously to authorize a continuous (permanent) 0.25 percent increase in the Lucas County sales tax rate, which will go into effect on April Fools’ Day. This was the final step in a process that was first revealed by local media Dec. 1.

Kiss,-GarySales taxes are a revenue stream used to fund government operations. The Ohio legislature and the governor determine the tax rates and which goods and services are subject to the tax and which are exempt.

An area’s sales tax has three possible components. The first is the state’s portion, which is currently 5.75 percent in Ohio (a proposal to increase this rate by 0.5 percent has been advanced by Gov. John Kasich). The second is a county sales tax, which can range from 0.25 to 1.5 percent. The third is a transit authority tax used to fund transit authorities and mass transit districts. The transit tax can range from 0.25 to 1.5 percent. For every $100 spent in Ohio, you might be subject to a sales tax of $5.75 to $8.75 depending on the county in which you make your purchase. County sales taxes can be levied by a vote of the electors or imposed by the county commissioners. Transit taxes must be levied by the electors, but do not need the permission of the commissioners to appear on the ballot.

On Dec. 21, the Lucas County Commissioners announced they had started the process to have this tax increase completed and available for a vote at the Jan. 20 commissioners meeting. There were three public hearings held for information and the airing of comments from residents. The hearings began with a presentation stating the case for support of the tax rate increase. Four residents spoke at the first meeting, none at the second and about a dozen at the third. The third public meeting ended less than two hours before the vote on the resolution.

I attended the first and third meetings. Only one speaker was in favor of the tax. Others voiced concerns about what the money would be spent on or gave suggestions on how the new revenue should be used. Suggestions were given on increasing government efficiency and cooperation between other government units. The overall impression I took away was that 80 percent of the speakers were flat-out against the increase and would vote against it if given the chance.

After seeing the PowerPoint presentation at the first meeting, I did some research on the information it provided and found errors. A claim that 48 Ohio counties are already charging the maximum 1.5 percent rate was outdated because a temporary 0.5 percent tax in Erie County  expired Sept. 30. A county administrator, not a commissioner, told a speaker that the transit tax rate in Cuyahoga County was 0.5 percent when the tax rate is actually 1 percent. There were also math errors and discrepancies in cited staffing levels for Lucas County, which were reduced between 2008 and 2014.

Examples showing how major county revenue streams have been affected since 2007 did not provide the source of the numbers being used. Relying on the official 2013 “Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for Lucas County, Ohio,” I could not find dollar amounts that correlated to the figures used in the charts. A U.S. Census report or a State of Ohio publication can be used to check and verify the county’s numbers. When no sources are given for the data used, should a questioning person just accept those figures as fact when he has found errors in other information provided by the same people?

The commissioners presented a comparison of Lucas County sales tax rates with those of other urban counties. Cuyahoga (8 percent), Franklin (7.5 percent), Hamilton (6.75 percent) and Montgomery (7.25 percent) counties were selected to show how the new Lucas County tax rate (7.25 percent) would not be out of line with these urban counties.

The misleading part of the comparison is that each of these counties’ tax rates, except for Hamilton County, includes a transit tax.

To compare apples to apples, exclude the state sales tax and any transit taxes. Comparing only the county sales tax for the top Ohio counties by population shows a less favorable comparison of sales tax rates:

  • Summit (No. 4) and Stark (No. 7) counties have a 0.50 percent sales tax rate.
  • Butler (No. 8) and Lorain (No. 9) counties have a 0.75 percent sales tax rate.
  • Hamilton (No. 3), Montgomery (No. 5) and Mahoning (No. 10) have a 1 percent sales tax rate.
  • Cuyahoga (No. 1) and Franklin (No. 2) counties have a 1.25 percent sales tax rate.
  • Lucas County (No. 6) will have a 1.50 percent sales tax rate.
  • In addition Warren (No. 11), Trumbull (No. 12) and Clermont (No. 13) counties have a 1 percent sales tax rate.
  • Ohio counties that have a transit tax are:
  • Cuyahoga: 1 percent
  • Franklin: 0.5 percent (0.25 percent permanent and 0.25 percent temporary)
  • Montgomery and Summit: 0.50 percent
  • Lake, Mahoning, Portage and Stark: 0.25 percent

Will TARTA seek a levy and try to make Lucas County the ninth Ohio county with a transit tax?

Those residents who attended the public hearings and saw the commissioners’ presentation were given three minutes to respond. Without prior knowledge of what the commissioners had prepared and with little time to form a response, the public was not given an adequate opportunity to form a reasoned rebuttal. If a few evenings with a laptop doing Google searches, taking notes and printing off some articles during TV commercials gave me the information I have accumulated, there is likely much more that a focused group with proper time to prepare could accomplish in rebutting the commissioners’ presentation.

Did the commissioners make a case to raise the sales tax rate? They must have, because they took less than two hours after the final public hearing ended to unanimously pass the rate increase.

This was the only course available to them because they were up against the clock, and any delay could have collapsed the whole operation. If this group had made their presentation to the panel on “Shark Tank” do you think the entrepreneurs would invest in or pass on Lucas County?

The commissioners did show that, when properly motivated, they could improve government efficiency. It took less than 30 days to impose a permanent sales tax increase that will go into effect at the earliest possible date while following all rules and regulations and avoiding opposition or negative publicity that could have doomed their efforts.

What were some other options available to the commissioners? They could have:

  • Submitted the tax to a vote by county residents prior to enactment.
  • Enacted the tax followed by a referendum at the next general election.
  • Made the tax increase temporary for one to three years.
  • Dedicated the monies raised by the tax increase to certain operations or functions instead of just dumping it into general operations.
  • Capped the amount of new revenue to a specific dollar amount ($2.5 million per quarter and $10 million for one year) which could be used immediately. Additional revenue could be reserved for a specific time (one year) before being used and transferred only at a predetermined rate (25 percent of the surplus balance per quarter) for predetermined purposes.
  • None of this was done. The commissioners need to be questioned and made to explain specifically why they disregarded each of the above options. Local print, radio, television and other media must pursue answers on this issue with the same zeal they use to report toxic algae blooms, speed traps or the shooting of a dog by a small-town police officer.

Gary Kiss lives in Toledo. He can be reached at [email protected].

Jeep looking to hire 28

By
Tom Konecny
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Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has announced it has 28 open salaried positions and numerous hourly positions at its Toledo Assembly Complex in North Toledo.

A spokesperson said there’s no need to read between the lines about what may or may not happen next with Jeep production in Toledo — the open positions are part of its normal business practices.

“These openings are just in order to keep up the business,” said Jodi Tinson, manufacturing and labor communications manager for Chrysler. “It’s fairly standard, and there’s also attrition because there are folks leaving or retiring.”

Among the salaried openings are positions such as maintenance supervisors, dimensional controls specialists, controls engineers and unit leaders. Basic qualifications for these include a bachelor’s degree in a related field. Hourly openings are in skilled trades, such as electricians, millwrights and pipe fitters. Qualifications for these include a high school diploma or equivalent and appropriate certifications. Complete details and qualifications for all positions can be found at chryslercareers.com under “Search Jobs” followed by “Manufacturing Jobs.”

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